Anyone else spent all of their Christmas money in the January Sales?How are we going to get through February? Especially when emails come flitting through from ASOS, Urban Outfitters, Topshop and alike, incessantly teasing us with free delivery offers and gorgeous new arrivals.I received an exciting Groupon email this week, boasting an irresistible deal of £15 off a £30 spend at American Apparel (check it out!) It was way too tempting to avoid browsing. Excitedly I clicked on the most beautiful ‘Ponte Sleeveless Skater Dress’ only to experience that well-known heart-sinking feeling as my eyes met the price. £60. That’s £60 more than I could afford! Even with the £15 off, what student can justify paying £60 for a dress?
Stunning, isn’t it? I eagerly searched eBay for the dress, but all were selling at the same price! However, in an ad down the side of the page I saw a very plain looking black dress with the same deep cut out back, and a light bulb appeared above my head! I wondered if I could recreate the American Apparel dress, so I ordered the plain eBay dress in the ad at only £6 and desperately began searching YouTube for tutorials on how to hem dresses!
Here is my finished product….
Quite a transformation, don’t you think?
Here’s how I did it…
You will needPair of scissorsBlack threadSafety pins (or other pins)Sewing needleRulerMarker pen
That’s literally it!
1. First I tried the dress on and worked out where I’d like the length to come to. I also laid out another one of my dresses over the top to match the perfect length. I marked the length on the black dress with a Sharpie pen (I used blue pen so it would show up on the black). Then I started cutting up to the mark with scissors. (NOTE: they were only ordinary stationery scissors!) It doesn’t have to be a completely neat cut because it will be hemmed.
2. I measured 7 inches down each side of the dress under the arms and carefully cut down along the stitching of the dress. I did the same for each side.
3. Then I folded 2cm of fabric in from each side of the slits made under the arm and held the fold in using safety pins (but normal pins would work better). I then sewed this by hand with a needle and thread. Trust me, I am no textiles expert so it was a simple in-out sewing style (there’s probably a name for that!) but as long as the sewing is in a neat line and is the same colour as the dress, it shouldn’t matter too much! 4. I repeated this process for the bottom of the dress to make it neater; I folded in about half an inch of material, held it with safety pins and then sewed using a needle and thread. I’m sure if you have a sewing machine it will be much better than my hand sewing, but again it doesn’t matter too much as the thread was black and won’t be seen against the dark material of the dress.
That’s it. Honestly, it is such a simple process yet so effective. See, anyone can do it!
They make great presents as well; to give someone your time and effort is much more generous than spending a lot of money.
It only took me around an hour to complete, and the only reason that it took that long was because my textile skills leave a little (or a lot) to be desired!
Before:
After:
So I can eat this month after all – £6 won’t break the bank!
Time to get your sewing needles out! See you in a fortnight x